Difficulty w/ Sugar Goal

LouPalumbo

The hardest challenge for me is meeting my calorie goals and not going over my sugar intake limit. I like soda a lot but I try to avoid it. I drink a lot of vitamin d milk and protein drinks. The protein drinks also go down so much better when blended with fruit juice and fruits. It seems whenever I include snacks and ice cream shakes, I always shoot up over my sugar limit.

My BMR is around 1300, I'm 120lbs, and I'm pretty active (I don't do well with sitting still). According to my body composition test, I need to put on 12 lbs of lean muscle and 4 lbs of fat. My trainer said I have room for some additional body fat (to store additional energy throughout the day) as I am around 13% BF.

Should I be limiting my sugar as much as possible? I fill up easily and still getting used to 2500+ calories a day and this much protein (learning to space out my food intake)

I'm also working hard to stop smoking cigarettes for good (which is tuff) as I used to smoke 10 cigarettes a day...cutting back the sugar makes this task even more difficult as when I drink soda, I have less of a desire to smoke. I am also on mild form of add meds.

Thanks in advance!

ndj1979

unless you have a medical condition there is no need to limit sugar. As you are trying to add weight you do want to eat some calorie dense foods like bagels, ice cream, cookies, etc; however, you need to make sure that you get adequate nutrition (hit micros) and that you are meeting your macro (protein/fat/carbs) minimums.

psuLemon

I wouldn't stress the sugar thing too much. Just concentrate on getting foods from a variety of sources and you will be good. Plus the MFP goal is fairly erroneous. In the end, if you don't eat enough calories, you will not gain. If you need ideas of calorie options, you can look at my diary. I cut at 2500, so that would be inline with your current recommendations.

LouPalumbo

Thanks for the help & advice gents

silverstormborn

I have this problem... but then I know what foods & drinks to avoid... & even then I still have this problem.

If you're that concerned about your sugar intake, I'd suggest making a list of all those sugary foods/drinks you are consuming & consider phasing some of them out.

Also, keep in mind fruit consists of a lot of sugar.

LouPalumbo

silverstormborn wrote: »

I have this problem... but then I know what foods & drinks to avoid... & even then I still have this problem.
.

is the sugar making it harder for you to gain weight? Or is it just killing your energy for workouts....

silverstormborn

2 months ago I was just eating anything high in calories, regardless of nutritional value, & most of those high calorie foods were packed full of unhealthy sugars! It just seemed the easiest way to gain weight... & it was working.

Now that I've cut down, I am struggling to make up the calories I'm missing.. So it's a work in progress.

I can't believe I've gone from a candy-scoffing sweet tooth who basically relied on sugar to keep up my energy level & fast weight gaining to where I am 2 months later.

The good news is... since cutting down on sugary foods & caffeine, I no longer have that craving, & I'm able to eat foods I never would have touched before {2 months ago I wouldn't have touched leafy green vegetables!}

You don't need to do anything as extreme as I have. My dietitian told me not to restrict myself too much. But if you can cut down a little... I can swear by the benefits!